For a second today, i could swear that president Obama intentionally left the last question in his press conference to Faux News - Because these jerks are so predictable and the president really wanted to be asked a specific question. Wendell Goler did not disappoint...
ETA: Washington Post uses Obama's answer as their entire 9/11 editorial:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...
Thanks, Drdemocrat!
...He wanted to know what the president thought about the "wisdom of building a Mosque a couple of buildings from Ground Zero". The answer was so beautiful, it almost brought me to tears, but since i'm so easily moved by this man, i waited to see what someone a little more serious than me would say.
I usually wouldn't think that Chuck Todd is more serious than me, but i did like what he said right after the PC was over:
"I would say he was most passionate, frankly, at the end, when he made a case for the right for religious freedom and for the rights of Muslim-Americans to have the same rights as everybody else in this country. The passion he showed there was probably greater than he answered on any other question. And frankly, it's interesting. He mixed it-it was sort of passionate and it was mixed in with patriotism in a way that, I think, even some of his critics on this issue will say it was a very eloquent answer, to say the least."
Nice, though it is only Chuck Todd...But then Steve Benen wrote this, and i knew it wasn't just my well known Obama-bias.
...The president's response was one of the best of his presidency...It's a shame the country has to be reminded of these basic truths from time to time, but it's heartening when a leader steps up to make this plain...
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This was simply Barack Obama at his finest, looking straight in the eyes of Faux viewers and putting their bigotry and stupidity to a real shame - with a touch of subtly blaming them of endangering America's national security.
It begins around the 1:30 mark.
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"I think I've been pretty clear on my position here. And that is, is that this country stands for the proposition that all men and women are created equal, that they have certain inalienable rights; one of those inalienable rights is to practice their religion freely. And what that means is that if you could build a church on a site, you could build a synagogue on a site, if you could build a Hindu temple on a site, then you should be able to build a mosque on the site...
"We are not at war against Islam. We are at war against terrorist organizations that have distorted Islam or falsely used the banner of Islam to engage in their destructive acts. And we've got to be clear about that. We've got to be clear about that because ... if we're going to successfully reduce the terrorist threat, then we need all the allies we can get. The folks who are most interested in a war between the United States or the West and Islam are al Qaeda. That's what they've been banking on.
"And fortunately, the overwhelming majority of Muslims around the world are peace-loving, are interested in the same things that you and I are interested in: how do I make sure I can get a good job, how can I make sure that my kids get a decent education, how can I make sure I'm safe, how can I improve my lot in life. And so they have rejected this violent ideology for the most part, overwhelmingly.
"And so from a national security interest, we want to be clear about who the enemy is here. It's a handful, a tiny minority of people who are engaging in horrific acts and have killed Muslims more than anybody else.
"The other reason it's important for us to remember that is because we've got millions of Muslim-Americans, our fellow citizens, in this country. They're going to school with our kids. They're our neighbors. They're our friends. They're our coworkers. And, you know, when we start acting as if their religion is somehow offensive, what are we saying to them?
"I've got Muslims who are fighting in Afghanistan, in the uniform of the United States armed services. They're out there putting their lives on the line for us, and we've got to make sure that we are crystal clear for our sakes and their sakes: They are Americans. And we honor their service. And part of honoring their service is making sure that they understand that we don't differentiate between 'them' and 'us.' It's just 'us.'"
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Just for fun, president Obama's greatest GOP-bashing hits from today:
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President Obama will headline five major campaign events leading up to November’s election:
•September 28: Moving America Forward Rally in Madison, WI
•October 10: Moving America Forward Rally in Philadelphia, PA
•October 12: Commit to Vote Tele-Town Hall Webcast, part of OFA’s Commit to Vote program
•October 17: Moving America Forward Rally in Ohio
•October 22: Moving America Forward Rally in Las Vegas, NV
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Some really beautiful photography from AP:
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(September 9, Official WH photo by Pete Souza)